Help me buy a vacuum- rainbow

[vacyume]

That's what I'm talking about dustin, high fives! Thanks for the wettable dirt info! No fireplace here, I don't even burn candles or incense because they make black dust, and not one ounce of talc powder in this house (except maybe my make-up, but that's negligible I assume).

I had performed a dealer search earlier, before starting this thread, but I didn't realize you could buy accessories, parts and fragrances online from some of the authorized dealers. Very nice! And don't you know Mr. Ken Bashford has the lowest fragrances prices of all the online dealers in a ~400 mile radius of me. I just sent him an email asking for a quote on a unit and the accessories I absolutely want.

 

[dysonman1]

The Sirena water filtration vacuum is very similar to the Rainbow but is available from a local vac shop and costs $895. Why pay $2400 for a water filtration vacuum, when you could get a Sirena? I love mine. And I have one of every model Rainbow ever made - I'd far rather spend less than nine hundred on a NEW Sirena than twenty four hundred on a new Rainbow. Either machine will get the rug sparking clean, both have a Separator and a washable HEPA filter, and both use high quality attachments, hoses, etc.

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I use oils like perfumes etc in all my water vacs and have no problems with them just make sure you clean them out well as it can leave them a bit oily and of course never leave the water sit when you are done.

 

[vacyume]

I'll check it out, thanks!

Also, Realized what the separator is, and even learned where its cleaning brush is stored. took a minute for all the pieces to connect. Got it!

Thanks All!

 

[vacyume]

kirbyvertibles, do you use perfumes that have 80% alcohol volume, an Eau de Parfum? or Essential Oil?

 

[williamr1248]

Help me buy a vacuum-Rainbow

Just a couple of comments:

(1) Mark is correct in that when you first get the Rainbow, you will dumping the water quite often, BUT after you have used your Rainbow for 2-3 months this will taper off. I had very high quality vacuums, so I didn't believe this was true until I used my Rainbow ONLY for about 3 months. You will be able to tell the difference in the total dust level in your house. Each time you use the Rainbow you are reducing the amount of recirculating dust.
(2) after 2-3 months, I found it was fine to just dump and rinse the basin. I check the separator every few uses but it only needs washing maybe once a month.
REMEMBER this will ONLY be true if you are using ONLY the Rainbow and not other machines that handle the dust in a dry state. What I did wrong was I would use it once and then go back to a bagged machine so I didn't not see the true benefit and dust reduction.
(3) Just remember, it is a heavy machine but the benefits of never having any odors, no bags to buy and you are not storing dirt and filth in the closet far outweigh the few minutes of clean up for anyone who has allergies.
You don't save trash in your house, you don't save dirty clothes or dirty dishes so why save filth in a dark closet and then have to have a charcoal filter to help keep the odors down when you vacuum the next time.
(4) Rainbow is NOT the right vacuum for everyone. If you prefer to get an upright out and go through the middle of the room, you will NOT be happy with a Rainbow.
The best part is that you stop recirculating dust every time you turn the vacuum on.

You start EVERY time with a brand new machine with no loss of suction or air flow.
Best of luck in your search.

 

[man114]

Buying from an authorized seller for the warranty is a situation up to you. You're a 4 hour drive away, that is something to consider. How is that office? Some of them are shifty, fly by night type. I know a few have gone belly up in the outskirt cities around here. Our largest in contrast has been around 25 years and does all its own service, and the service people themselves have nearly 20 years experience.

You could be buying from a place like some of the ones that have come and gone. Unless you knew for certain to plug down $2400-2500 (depending on your taxes) might not be worth it. If you can count on them still being around then maybe it is worth it for the warranty depdning on what the warranty is on a refurb from a vac shop.

That is a one ditributor to the next deal. You can walk into our office to the sales counter and buy it, parts or whatever you want without a demo if you so chose (though I'm not sure how the vac trade would work at that point, and it is rarely done since you get a lot of repeat customers who trade in older models that get incentives to see the new model). You're not going to get a demo, and you're just going to end up paying the same. You can drop it off and have it serviced. Yet there were one or two other distributors in other nearby cities which have come and gone. Then what?

I'd investigate it thoroughly. If you were driving to our local office I'd say sure do it, but you could be driving to one like the one south of here that went belly up.

A vac shop that handles them is likely a safer bet, you probably will sacrifice some of the warranty. Ebay is risky too, full of fly by nighters. Search the feedback thoroughly.

Cat litter is wettable and depending on the type cements itself to the bottom of the pan. It never seems to end up in the seperator, it just congeals in the bottom if there is a lot. A small amount isn't going to be any worse off that your house dirt. Don't vacuum non wettables. Don't leave dirty water in the pan and store the unit on it. Always remove the pan.

I'd use only the Rainbow fragrances, others can damage the plastic.

In regards to the Sirena. I had my doubts about it, especially as a start up so I emailed them and ended up speaking with the owner TK on the phone. He is a great guy and confident in the machine. He was accomodating of my questions in regards to it. The fact that he called me back personally has me considering selling the machines here locally because it is not often that a company will do that. As soon as I get some paperwork done I'll get a couple of machines and give it a good test to let everyone know how it is.

At the moment your biggest drawback is that it would have to be purchased most likely from the internet as there are very few dealers thus far which can be expected from a new company.

 

[kirbysthebest]

I pick up small amounts of kitty litter all the time, I use the clumping kind. Mostly just where it was tracked, but occasional where it was splashed out. I have never had a problem. As long as you change the water frequently, you shouldn't end up with a chunk of cement.

The water moves pretty vigorously and will keep things churned up.

 

[vacyume]

First, thank you all for sharing your opinions. Y'all are great!

Ken responded to me. He sent me docs of all the information I wanted. If I choose to buy brand new, this gentleman WILL get my business.

I'm not done exploring my options tho.

Called a local vacuum repair that has been in business for 36 years. They have two locations. We talked briefly about different rainbow models, and I brought up the Sierna. Going to this shop tomorrow or the day after to look at the D4 SEs they are interested in getting rid of. Said they had a couple dozen!

The idea of dipping my toes into the rainobw is extremely appealing. Then if I decided I want a brand new cadillac water filtration system later... I can be a collector like you guys!! That is IF the price is right.

 

[dysonman1]

Think of it this way, the BRAND NEW Sirena is $895 with a ten year warranty. A used Rainbow E series is at least $700. A used 20 year old Rainbow SE is at least $599. The new Rainbow is over $2000. A new Sirena makes a LOT of sense.

 

[mark40511]

As much as I like and trust Rexiar

AS FAR AS QUALITY goes (not necessarily sales tactics), I have to AGREE with you dysonman1.

I wonder if the quality INSIDE is equal to Rainbow?

 

[dysonman1]

Tomorrow, I'll take the machine apart to show the motor. It's made by Rotofil in Italy. The carbon brushes are VERY long, and should run for at least 1500 hours.

 

[vacyume]

Another question!

How often does rainbow change their model design?

 

[williamr1248]

Help me buy a vacuum-Rainbow

vacyume,

As far as the different models, that would be a good question for Tom.
Over many years I have bought or traded in one Rainbow on a new model to upgrade and get the new features.
I bought a new Rainbow in the following years and each was a improved design:

1972 ( I was almost a child-just kidding)
1985
1992
2011

I will tell you I just sold my Rainbow SE last year and was surprised that I had multiple offers and sold it for about $400.00. It was over 17 years old so they do hold their value as far as a household appliance goes.
The machine from 1972 was bought for my store and received untold amount of abuse and kept right on going. Never emptied, water not changed in a timely manner,
left on the water pan etc.

Best of luck on your search. People have been wonderful to share a LOT of information about water based systems.
If you do go with Ken, you will not have any problems and he is wonderful to stand behind ANYTHING he sells as several others on the forum have related.
Not always easy to find honest people in business today that are interested in having lifetime customers.

 

[GM1982]

The Sirena v Rainbow

Yes new rainbows seem very overpriced, do not own one, but $2,000+ for a vacuum is a bit silly. This is the first time I am hearing about the Sirena. It looks neat, but I question the length of the hose and I do not like that exposed power cord on the wand. It probably would be annoying to connect and disconnect it, and worry that it would get caught on something and tear off. Seems like they cut corners/costs by not having a direct connect. Just my observations.

 

[dysonman1]

When Sirena was being designed, they were looking at the E2 Rainbow as their inspiration. The cord from the power nozzle to the hose handle clipped into a channel on the back of the single piece wand. Sirena uses a telescopic wand. The cord doesn't get caught on anything really. I like that the power nozzle can be completely removed and any attachment placed onto the wand at any point during your cleaning. The power nozzle will fit the hose handle, eliminating the wand, making it ideal for mattress cleaning or stair cleaning.

 

[canuck]

Water, generally speaking

I think if you speak to anyone using a vacuum which employs water as a filter you will hear similar stories, they are amazing! The Rainbow (as manufactured by Rexair) has been the leader in this field. There is no doubt that after 75 years the reputation of Rainbow is almost untarnished. The primary downfalls with Rainbow (IMO) are the direct sales (which inflate the prices) and the after sales service. Thankfully many traditional vacuum stores are able to source parts and repair the machines when required (which in all fairness is not often when properly maintained).
That said, as with all things, times they are a-changing. Rexair now has many competitors, although the majority fall into 2 categories:
1) direct sales with inflated prices
2) cheap knock-offs
Without mentioning names, many of these "imposters" are still well over $1000.
The Sirena could prove a formidable opponent to Rainbow. The machine is well put together, the price reasonable, and so far it has received some good reviews. One must keep in mind there is no such thing as a product being great just because it's manufactured in a "certain" country. there was a time when made in America products we're considered of the highest quality, and Chinese products were cheap imitations, but that is no more. Many companies can now build high quality products in Asia, the labor costs offset the product cost.
When it's all said and done it usually boils down to personal preference backed up by a lot of homework

 

[vacyume]

Hmmm, williamr1248 comments on the rough treatment of his 1972 machine makes me wonder if it's possible to replace my hubby's shite shopvac with an older rainbow model. Is sawdust considered wettable dirt?

The readily available parts are a big plus for rainbow. When I searched for parts for other brands, I found the return a bit underwhelming. Does rainbow still make parts for all their older models?

About the Sirena. If I had found their website a few months ago, when I started this water filtration journey, I probably would have slapped my cc on it, and probably would have been happy with my purchase. But now that I've invested so much time and energy researching, and sacrificed guilty pleasures to save cash, I dunno if I'd be happy owning anything other than rainbow.

So I visited the vacuum repair shop today! The gentleman I spoke to owns the stores, his son operates the other location. He was very candid, it was refreshing. (On a side note, something I want to clear up, I misunderstood him, he has been in business for 26 years, not 36.) Anyways, he was very polite but didn't hold back when he told me he didn't like all the newfangled technology. In the end none of his machines made it home with me. He understood my reasoning and didn't begrudge my choice. The good news is, he can procure parts for rainbows and works on them. Oh! And he told me there used to be a rainbow dealer in town. He guesstimated that he was open for 3 years and had just recently closed the doors. Said he was a good man, retired Air Force, just couldn't make it work. :/ Median household income around here, last I checked, 30k a year... I bet he had problems. He also said he's seen many rainbow dealers in this region come and go over the years.

 

[vacyume]

I'm back!

Just wanted to thank you all for chatting with me before I made my purchase.

Ended up buying my rainbow off e-bay. It was listed as Brand New, but when I received it the separator had some residue on it, and the small brush head attachments was aftermarket. The rest of it looked nice and clean though. And the price was nice.

I vacuum once a week with my rainbow, occasionally more often. The thing is a haus, I run it for several hours at a time- after vacuuming I make a fresh bowl and run it in front of the central air register.

The best part, no more bags, a huge boon to a girl living out in the country. No more ripping open full bags, emptying them, and duct taping them back when I run out of bags and don't want to drive an hour to get more.

I looked at the hepa filter the other day, it's bright white, looks brand spanking new.

 

[vacyume]

I should add, I've owned this rainbow for about 2 years now.
Was just thinking about y'all and how much I love my machine, thought it'd be nice to give an update.